Can You Freeze Parsley?

Only needed a handful from that big bunch of parsley? Freeze the rest. Parsley is one of six herbs on Ohio State University Extension’s list of the best herbs for freezing,¹ and since it loses a lot of flavor when dried,² the freezer is the better home for a surplus. Use it within 3 to 6 months for the best quality, in soups, stews and sauces rather than as garnish, because it goes limp when it thaws. It crumbles easily while still frozen, too, which saves you the chopping.

At a glance

Question	Short answer
Can it be frozen?	Yes. Illinois Extension says parsley can be frozen for later use.³
Best methods	Tray-freeze leaves then bag them; bag washed sprigs; or freeze chopped parsley in ice cube trays under water, broth or oil.
Freezer temperature	0°F or below.¹⁴
How long	For best quality, 3 to 6 months (Ohio State). Other figures below.
Thaw first?	No. Add it frozen to cooked dishes.
Texture after thawing	Limp; generally not attractive as a garnish.
Oil cubes	Keep them frozen. Herbs in oil must never sit at room temperature.⁵

How to freeze parsley

Prep it. Rinse the parsley, then pat or spin it dry. Ohio State says to freeze herbs at peak freshness. Colorado State adds: pick young, tender herbs and toss any with rot or mold.

Method 1: bag the sprigs. The easiest way is to put washed herbs in airtight freezer bags and freeze them. Press out as much air as you can before sealing. That guards against freezer burn, which happens when air reaches the surface of the food.⁶ Split a big bunch into several small bags so you only open what you need. Frozen parsley crumbles easily, so you can chop or crush it while it’s still frozen.

Method 2: tray-freeze. Spread well-drained parsley in a single layer on shallow trays, freeze until firm, then move it to labeled bags or containers. The leaves stay separate, so you can grab a handful at a time.

Method 3: ice cubes. Chop the parsley, pack it into ice cube trays, cover it with water, broth or oil, and freeze. Pick one liquid. Water and oil won’t combine into a cube. NDSU suggests popping the cubes into bags labeled with contents and date, then dropping a whole cube into soup or stew.

Method 4: in oil. Penn State’s ratio is about ⅓ to ½ cup of oil to 2 cups of chopped herbs, frozen in cube trays, small jars, or flat in a zip-top bag.⁵ Herbs frozen in oil hold their color better than herbs frozen plain, which is a plus for a green herb like parsley. Herbs frozen in cubes do cook unevenly as the cube melts, though.

Label and date everything. Herbs give off smells in the freezer, so Penn State suggests double-wrapping strong-smelling ones in foil or using glass jars with airtight lids. That’s about smells. Pressing the air out of the bag is what prevents freezer burn.

Curly or flat-leaf? PROSEA describes flat-leaf parsley as stronger flavored than curly,⁷ so if flavor’s the point, freeze flat-leaf. We found no comparison of how the two hold up in the freezer. See Italian parsley vs. curly parsley.

How long frozen parsley keeps

None of the sources we found give a storage figure measured on frozen parsley. The named figures are general, and they answer different questions.

Source	What it covers	Figure
Ohio State University Extension¹	Frozen herbs, best quality	Use within 3 to 6 months; may be safe after a year or longer
Colorado State University Extension⁴	Frozen vegetables in general, at 0°F or below	High quality for 12 to 18 months; no figure given for herbs
USDA freezing fact sheet⁶	Frozen food in general	Safe almost indefinitely; storage times are for quality only
Penn State Extension⁵	Frozen herbs	No time given; label and date

You’ll often see that frozen parsley “lasts at least six months.” That matches the top of Ohio State’s range for herbs in general, but it doesn’t come from measuring parsley. Claims that one freezing method keeps parsley longer than another have no source we could find either.

What freezing does to parsley

Freezing makes the water in the leaves expand, which is why frozen herbs are limp when thawed.⁵ Expect thawed parsley to be soft. Penn State’s note that herbs frozen in oil keep their color better than herbs frozen alone suggests parsley loses some color when frozen without oil. Ohio State calls freezing the method that keeps the most nutrients and flavor, but we found no tasting or lab study of frozen parsley’s flavor, so we can’t say how close it comes to fresh.

Why it spoils after thawing. Freezing doesn’t sterilize. At 0°F, bacteria, yeasts and molds are inactivated, but once food thaws they can get going again. Freezing also only slows the food’s own enzymes.⁶ So Ohio State’s advice is that after thawing, microorganisms keep growing, and you should handle thawed herbs like fresh food.¹ We found no source for how long thawed parsley lasts in the fridge, so use it promptly.

Food safety: parsley in oil

Low-acid foods like herbs, stored in oil, sit in an oxygen-free environment. Oregon State explains that these mixtures need to be stored correctly to prevent botulism, caused by Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium found in soil, water and air. Its rule for homemade herbs in oil: refrigerate and use within 4 days, or freeze for the long term.⁸ A 2011 review of home-prepared herbs and vegetables in oil concluded that freezing is the safest recommendation.⁹ Don’t store herbs in oil at room temperature.⁵ Keep parsley oil cubes frozen until you cook with them, and treat any you thaw as a refrigerated herb-in-oil mix with a 4-day limit.⁸

Using frozen parsley

Add it frozen. Penn State says not to thaw herbs before adding them to cooked dishes.
Measure it like fresh. You can use frozen herbs in the same proportion as fresh.⁵
Cooked dishes first. Ohio State lists soups, stews, sauces and other cooked dishes as the best uses for frozen herbs. LSU AgCenter counts parsley among the delicate herbs best added in the last minute or two of cooking,¹⁰ and that goes for frozen parsley too.
Raw sauces are a compromise. Ohio State says frozen herbs may suit cooked dishes better than raw ones. Thawed parsley can still go into a blended sauce like chimichurri or a vinaigrette, where texture matters less, but it’ll come out softer than with fresh.
Not for garnish. Thawed herbs are limp and generally unappealing on a plate.

Freezing, drying or refrigerating?

Refrigerator, for days. Illinois Extension says fresh parsley keeps best if you wash the leaves, let them drip dry, bag them and refrigerate. See how to store parsley.
Freezer, for months. The best route for a surplus.
Drying. You can, but parsley is much weaker dried. See how to dry parsley and fresh vs. dried parsley.

Not yet measured

How long frozen parsley keeps its flavor and color, measured on parsley.
Whether ice cubes, oil or dry-pack freezing keeps parsley best.
How long thawed parsley keeps in the fridge.
Whether curly or flat-leaf parsley freezes better.

Preserving Herbs: Freezing and Drying (HYG-5360), Ohio State University Extension. ohioline.osu.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
When You Should Actually Use Dried Herbs, America’s Test Kitchen. americastestkitchen.com · Publication ↩
Parsley, University of Illinois Extension. extension.illinois.edu · Reference work ↩
Preserve Smart: Freezing Herbs, Colorado State University Extension. apps.chhs.colostate.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩²
Freezing Herbs, Penn State Extension. extension.psu.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶
Focus on Freezing, USDA fact sheet (copy hosted by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture). ncagr.gov · Regulator ↩ ↩² ↩³
Petroselinum crispum, PROSEA. uses.plantnet-project.org · Reference work ↩
Herbs and Vegetables in Oil (SP 50-701), Oregon State University Extension Service. extension.oregonstate.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩²
Nummer et al., Food Protection Trends, 2011. foodprotection.org · Peer-reviewed ↩
Flavorful Herbs, LSU AgCenter. lsuagcenter.com · Reference work ↩

Also drawn on

Preserving Herbs and Vegetables (Julie Garden-Robinson, Food Wise, August 2015), NDSU Extension. ag.ndsu.edu

Can You Freeze Parsley? Methods, Storage Time and Best Uses